Hemostatic agents and tissue sealants are routinely used to prevent excess blood loss and to reconstruct tissue during surgical repair. For example, fibrin glue is commonly used to impart topical hemostasis, provide sealant properties that are suitable in certain clinical applications, and promote tissue approximation. However, in general, commercially available tissue sealants do not perform well in wet or “bleeding” applications. Current commercially available tissue sealants and hemostatic agents are generally too slow, too cumbersome, lack optimum adhesive properties, and/or lack the tensile strength required for suturing and preventing arterial blood loss. In addition, many commercially available sealants do not have the mechanical strength to address many clinical wound closure demands.
Accordingly, improved adhesive compositions and patches are desirable.